Cleveland designates Valbuena for assignment

The Cleveland Indians made some moves yesterday to protect prospects from the upcoming Rule 5
draft.

Two of those players, pitcher Scott Barnes and shortstop Juan Diaz, spent some time with the
Columbus Clippers this past season. Barnes was a solid piece of the rotation before tearing the
anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Diaz came up from double-A Akron to play shortstop for
the Clippers in the postseason.

The third player was right-handed pitcher Danny Salazar. He underwent reconstructive shoulder
surgery in 2010 and pitched a bit for the Class A Lake County Captains and the rookie league
Arizona Indians. Salazar is 21 and apparently interesting in prospect terms.

At the bottom of the release, the Indians also announced that they had designated infielder Luis
Valbuena for assignment. Spots on the 40-man roster are golden at this time of the year and
Cleveland obviously had finished with Valbuena as a prospect.

He spent nearly all of this past season with the Clippers and was voted to the International
League All Star team. He batted .302 with 17 home runs and 75 RBI while playing mostly shortstop.
In parts of three seasons with Columbus, Valbuena batted a combined .306.

He was fun to watch. He was lively, feisty and at ease in a Columbus uniform. He also was
confident in the knowledge that he was a star in the league. What he did with the Clippers never
translated at the big league level with the Indians.

After playing second base and batting .250 for the Tribe in 2009, Valbuena was awful in 2010 and
knew it. He batted .193 that season while Jason Kipnis, Jason Donald and Cord Phelps became second
base possibilities. Kipnis appears to have that job in 2012. Donald likely will fill the team's
utility role.

Valbuena was called up here and there this past season, but didn't perform well in limited
opportunities as a utility player. Those included a couple of disastrous appearances in the
outfield where Valbuena was neither at ease nor confident let alone lively and feisty.

He turned 26 on Nov. 30. It will be interesting to see where he lands next season.
Perhaps another opportunity awaits with another franchise to prove that he is more than
the proverbial 4-A player. In any case, Valbuena was an outstanding Clipper.